Traditionally, camouflage fabrics have been colored and textured so as to make it difficult to visually distinguish the fabric from its surroundings. With the increasing importance of thermal and radar imaging in the battlefield, some camouflage fabrics are now designed to suppress infrared and/or microwave radiation, as well.
For example, U.S. Patent Application Publication 2010/0112316, whose disclosure is incorporated herein by reference, describes a visual camouflage system that includes a vinyl layer having a camouflage pattern on its front surface with a site-specific camouflage pattern. A laminate layer is secured over the front surface of the vinyl layer, coating the camouflage pattern to provide protection to the camouflage pattern and strengthen the vinyl layer. One or more nanomaterials are disposed on the vinyl layer, the camouflage pattern, or the laminate to provide thermal and/or radar suppression.
As another example, U.S. Pat. No. 7,148,161, whose disclosure is incorporated herein by reference, describes a thermal camouflage tarpaulin for hiding heat sources against detection in a thermal image. The tarpaulin comprises a base textile composed of a knitted or woven glass fabric on the side that is remote from the heat source with a compound whose reflectance values are in the region of a visual camouflage and/or in the infrared region. The base textile is provided with a free-standing polyester film to which a vapor-deposited coating that reflects thermal radiation has been applied on the side facing the heat source.
As a further example, U.S. Pat. No. 7,244,684, whose disclosure is incorporated herein by reference, describes a thermal camouflage sheet for covering heat sources against identification in a thermal image. The sheet has a base textile with a glass filament, with a coating that contains aluminum powder on one side and a coating that contains color pigments on the other side. The remission values of the color pigments are in a range that allows camouflaging in the visual-optical and near infrared.